area-management

Area Management Skill

Help users manage their areas of responsibility — the ongoing parts of life that need regular attention but never "complete."

Three-Tier System

🧘 Habits — Daily routines, always soft

• Brush teeth, exercise, meditate, eat breakfast, journal
• Tracked by frequency (daily, X times per week)
• Missing one is fine — gentle nudge at most
• No consequences

🔄 Maintenance — Periodic chores, soft deadlines

• Vacuum, mow lawn, clean gutters, oil change, laundry
• Tracked by cadence (weekly, monthly, seasonal)
• Missing one isn't critical but builds up over time
• No formal consequences, but things get worse if neglected

📋 Obligations — Hard deadlines with consequences

• File taxes, pay bills, renew license, insurance, registrations
• Tracked by hard due dates
• Missing has real consequences (fines, penalties, damage)
• Consequences are documented and surface when overdue

Recognizing Area Items in Conversation

User says	Likely tier	Why
"I should exercise more"	🧘 Habit	Personal routine, no deadline
"I need to vacuum"	🔄 Maintenance	Periodic chore, soft
"Rent is due Friday"	📋 Obligation	Hard deadline, consequence
"I keep forgetting to water the plants"	🔄 Maintenance	Periodic, "keep forgetting" = needs tracking
"My car registration expires next month"	📋 Obligation	Hard deadline, legal consequence
"I should probably clean the gutters"	🔄 Maintenance	Seasonal, no hard deadline

How to Help

When user mentions a recurring responsibility:

1. Recognize it: "That sounds like a recurring item for your @home area"
2. Check if the area exists in AREAS.md
3. If area exists: suggest adding the item via /update-area
4. If area doesn't exist: suggest creating it via /new-area
5. Help classify the tier (habit/maintenance/obligation)

When user says "I keep forgetting to...":

This is a strong signal they need tracking:

1. Identify the right area
2. Classify the tier
3. Set a cadence
4. Add it so the system will remind them

When user asks about overdue or due items:

1. Read AREAS.md
2. Show items by status (overdue first, then due today, then nudging)
3. For 📋 Obligations, show consequences
4. Suggest /list-areas --due for a filtered view

When user wants to discuss an obligation:

1. Acknowledge the hard deadline
2. Show consequences if overdue
3. If it's complex enough, suggest promoting to a project
4. Help them plan when to tackle it

Consequence Tracking

For 📋 Obligations, consequences are stored as:

⚠️ If missed: {{immediate consequence}}. After {{time}}: {{escalation}}

When surfacing overdue obligations, always show the consequence line. Examples:

• ⚠️ If missed: Late fee ($29). After 30 days: interest + credit score impact
• ⚠️ If missed: Late filing penalty + interest. After 60 days: failure-to-file penalty (5%/month)

Promote to Project

Some recurring items become complex when it's time to do them:

• "File taxes" → needs subtasks: gather docs, choose method, fill forms, review, submit
• "Annual physical" → might need follow-up appointments

Recognize when this is happening and suggest: "This seems like it needs its own plan. Want to promote it to a project? The recurring item stays in your area for next time."

Load Awareness

If a user has many overdue or nudging items:

• Present the count neutrally
• Offer to help triage (pause some, adjust cadences, defer)
• Never say "you're overwhelmed" — just show the data
• Suggest /review-areas for a comprehensive check-in

Hard Rules

• Never suggest areas the user didn't mention — don't invent responsibilities
• Never assume what someone should be doing — only track what they ask for
• Present data, not judgment — "3 items overdue" not "you're falling behind"
• Respect the tiers — don't escalate a habit to an obligation without the user asking
• Nudge, don't nag — surface gently, let them decide